Qualifications for Alimony in New York

Long Island family lawyer helps secure spousal maintenance payments

For a spouse who doesn’t work or who has a significantly lower income than their husband or wife, divorce is especially stressful. You worry about how you will support yourself during the divorce process and once your marriage is over. Our skillful Long Island family lawyers at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C., advise clients about the qualifications for alimony in New York in order to help them secure fair maintenance payments.

Who qualifies for alimony in New York?

Generally, alimony is designed to assist spouses who relied on their partner’s income for part or all of their financial support during the marriage. In some cases, a wife or husband who took care of the household and children might not be able to rejoin the workforce and earn a salary commensurate with their needs and lifestyle. Spousal maintenance is usually intended to give parties a chance to obtain the training, skills and experience they need to support themselves.

How alimony payments are determined

Many New York alimony matters are handled using the state’s spousal maintenance calculator. Our firm can enter financial data and other information relating to you and your spouse to assess whether the state guidelines call for an alimony award. There are other factors that the judge can consider if your income does not fit within the formula’s parameters or if special circumstances apply. The factors include the following:

• The financial situations of both spouses, including whether one spouse has a need and the other has the means to pay.
• How the requesting spouse contributed to the household and to their spouse’s education or career.
• How long it will take the requesting spouse to gain job skills to be self-supporting.
• The standard of living during the marriage.
• The ages and health of both spouses.

An experienced Long Island alimony lawyer from our firm will review the relevant information and pursue an appropriate resolution for you.

The New York spousal maintenance calculator

Within the New York spousal maintenance calculator, there are two formulas that can be used, depending on whether child support is being paid by one of the parties. You can input your income and your spouse’s income into the calculator and answer the questions regarding child support and other issues to get an estimated alimony award amount.

Modifying spousal maintenance payments

Alimony payments are not set in stone. They can be increased, decreased or stopped if warranted by a substantial change in circumstances, but you will have to convince the court that the adjustment is needed by providing evidence. A judge may modify payments due to:

• A significant decrease or increase in income of either spouse.
• Chronic illness or disability of either spouse.
• Remarriage or cohabitation of the spouse who receives alimony.

Our law firm can help you file your alimony modification petition and argue on your behalf before the judge. We work with clients who believe they should be avoiding alimony because their ex is now living with a new partner and also defend existing orders when an ex asks for a modification that is not justified by the circumstances.

Enforcing alimony payments in New York

Alimony obligations can be enforced by petitioning the court, and we can assist you with the legal process so you get the payment you’re entitled to. You will need to provide evidence about the missed payments and appear before a judge in a hearing. The judge will determine whether the alimony order has been violated and what actions to take against your former spouse to enforce payment. Actions could include contempt of court charges that come with jail time and fines, wage garnishment, seizing of your spouse’s bank accounts and tax refunds and revocation of driver’s and professional licenses.

Contact our experienced New York family lawyers for help today

The experienced Long Island divorce lawyers at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C., handle a full range of New York alimony issues for clients. Please call 631-388-6009 or contact us online to schedule a free case evaluation.